A pair of YRHS Raiders will be representing Saskatchewan at the 2015 Football Canada Cup in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, from July 13-19.
Offensive lineman Noah Zerr (6鈥�7鈥�, 285-lbs) and linebacker/defensive lineman/fullback Caleb Bymak (6鈥�1鈥�, 200-lbs) both impressed the Football Saskatchewan U18 coaching staff enough to earn a spot on the provincial team, which will be looking to move one spot higher in the standings after a narrow 27-19 loss to Ontario in last year鈥檚 final that saw the team finish second.
鈥淚鈥檓 just really honoured and excited for the opportunity to represent my town, my school and my province again,鈥� offered Zerr, who played in last year鈥檚 tournament as a member of the second place Team Saskatchewan Green. 鈥淚鈥檓 overly excited and really looking forward to it because now I kind of know what to expect.鈥�
Zerr also believes his previous experience at this event will not only help him out, but it will also help his YRHS teammate out. 鈥淚 played on this team last year as well so I鈥檒l be looking out for Caleb a little bit and telling him what鈥檚 up and what to expect because I鈥檓 excited for him to be there as well.鈥�
Bymak, too, says he is honoured to be one of the few players throughout the province to be selected to the team and believes that a good showing at the Football Canada Cup will be beneficial to him in the long run. 鈥淚t鈥檚 definitely a great opportunity for me as far as football goes, especially for people like myself with an interest in playing football after high school,鈥� mentioned Bymak, continuing, 鈥渢he Football Canada Cup is the premier amateur football tournament in Canada. Getting the honour to represent Saskatchewan is a pretty big deal, especially at that kind of an event and as far as people wanting to play university or post-secondary football, it鈥檚 definitely the main opportunity to get a chance to showcase yourself in front of scouts and people like that so that鈥檚 pretty exciting.鈥�
Playing in front of the scouts is something that Zerr 鈥� who is one of the top recruits of the 2016 graduating class - is also looking forward to. 鈥淚鈥檓 very excited to play in front of the scouts and I鈥檓 glad that they鈥檒l be watching but it鈥檚 also a lot of pressure going in and knowing that they鈥檙e there and that if you have a bad performance in front of them it might follow you around or hurt your chances at scholarships,鈥� said Zerr, adding that although everyone is aware the scouts are there, once the game is under way the thought of them doesn鈥檛 even cross the mind. 鈥淥nce the game starts there isn鈥檛 much focus on the scouts.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e more worried about the game and getting the job done.鈥�
And that job, says Zerr, is simple: redemption. 鈥淲e lost in the final last year to Ontario, so that鈥檚 something we want to change this year,鈥� said Zerr, continuing, 鈥淓very time you want to go for that gold medal.
鈥淲e definitely have a little bit of a chip on our shoulder from last year and we鈥檙e looking forward to getting another chance at the gold medal this year.鈥�
Team Saskatchewan opens the tournament up on Monday, July 13 against the seventh seed New Brunswick at 1:00p.m. ET (11:00a.m. Sask). From there their schedule is determined by whether they win or lose.
The games will be live streamed and can be seen by going to www.footballcanada.com on game day.
